News Release DATE: January 4, 2010 CONTACT: Jeff Close, The SPARK Institute 860-658-5058

THE SPARK INSTITUTE ANSWERS TECHNICAL QUESTIONS REGARDING 403(b) PLANS INFORMATION SHARING, SCHEDULES WEBINAR TO DISCUSS NEW MATERIAL

SIMSBURY, CT, Jan. 4 – The SPARK Institute has posted new answers to additional technical questions it has received regarding its 403(b) Plans Information Sharing Data Elements Best Practices and has scheduled a webinar to discuss its latest Best Practices documents, it was announced today by Larry H. Goldbrum, General Counsel. “The new questions and answers deal with issues related to hardship and in-service withdrawals, loans and distributions to people called into active military service. They are posted, along with previously answered questions and other materials related to the Best Practices, on the Institute’s web site at http://www.sparkinstitute.org/comments-and-materials.php. The Institute also has scheduled a webinar titled, “New 403(b) Plans Best Practices,” for Wednesday, January 27 at 12:00 Noon EST. “The event will review new 403(b) plan materials from The SPARK Institute, including best practices for sharing remittance and census data, Version 1.04 of the Institute’s Best Practices for Information Sharing, and our recently released draft Guidelines for Preparing Multiple Vendor 403(b) Plans - 2009 Form 5500 Aggregation,” said Goldbrum. “These are significant new documents that include important changes that will be helpful to service providers and plan sponsors in the 403(b) plans community.” He said that they are also available now on the Institute’s website and can be used by anyone. Speakers for the webinar include James Racine, Assistant Vice President-403(b) Initiatives for Lincoln Financial Group, and Ralph Sanna, Director-Strategic Initiatives at TIAA-CREF. They are members of The SPARK Institute 403(b) Plans Task Force and were instrumental in developing the best practices material.

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SHAPING AMERICA’S RETIREMENT The SPARK Institute Releases 403(b) Plans Documents…………….………………….page 2 of 2 The webinar is intended for anyone responsible for 403(b) plan administration and information sharing, including business, relationship management, administration, systems and operations staff from investment providers, third party administrators, plan sponsors/employers and software and systems providers. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the 60-minute session. Details about the webinar are available at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/956383921 or by calling The SPARK Institute at 860-658- 5058. The SPARK Institute is the leading voice in Washington for the retirement services industry. Through the combined expertise of its member companies, The SPARK Institute provides research, education, testimony and comments on pending legislative and regulatory issues to members of Congress and relevant government agency officials. Collectively, its members serve over 62 million defined contribution plan participants, including more than 90% of all 403(b) plan participants.

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SHAPING AMERICA’S RETIREMENT